G ove r n men t Re lat ions
State Board of Dentistry Update
Continuing Deliberations on PHDHP Practice Site
Proposed Regulations
The State Board of Dentistry (SBOD) spent much of 2019 working
on proposed regulations expanding public health dental
hygiene practitioner (PHDHP) practice site locations to include
child care settings, physicians’ offices and residences of home
bound and hospice patients.
In July, the SBOD opted to remove “residences of home bound
and hospice patients” from the proposed rulemaking, believing
that this issue needs more thoroughly vetted and introduced in
a stand-alone regulatory package. The SBOD was not yet in the
position to vote on the draft regulations because legal counsel
needed to incorporate this change, as well as others, into the
draft regulations.
On the Horizon for 2020
Several committees of the SBOD are researching other issues
that may gain traction next year. There may also be issues that
need addressed because of legislative action. They include:
• Allowing hygienists to use lasers
• The licensing examination process
• Continuing education credit carryover
PDA is actively monitoring and responding to emerging trends
in the delivery of dental services, in particular Do-It-Yourself
(DIY) dentistry and teledentistry models in the private sector.
PDA recently sent a letter to the State Board of Dentistry (see
the following page) asking it to consider strengthening its
definition of “general supervision,” which defines the circumstances
in which dental hygienists may provide hygiene services.
At its September meeting, the SBOD was presented with a new
draft of the proposed regulations, but it postponed taking an
official vote. The SBOD did not feel prepared to take a vote after
a number of concerns were raised at the Regulations Committee
meeting held earlier that day. The committee met again prior to
the SBOD’s meeting scheduled on November 15 and offered
recommendations on whether to vote on the current draft or to
make further revisions. These recommendations include:
o Several SBOD members expressed support for
collaborative agreements between a PHDHP,
physician and dentist when PHDHPs are practicing
in physicians’ offices.
o Several SBOD members expressed support for
limiting the locations in which PHDHPs may
practice in physicians’ offices to the state’s dental
health professional shortage areas. This may entail
the SBOD or other entity approving site locations.
o The need to meet infection control requirements
and standards of care for taking and reviewing
radiographs in all PHDHP practice site locations.
The board directed legal counsel to research other states’ laws
and regulations pertaining to collaborative agreements, as well
as how the board could legally and practically tie PHDHP
practice in physicians’ offices to dental health professional
shortages areas. It is possible that legal counsel prepares draft
language for the board to consider, and that the board votes on
the proposed rulemaking (with or without the inclusion of new
language), at its meeting on January 17, 2020.
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N OVEM BER/DECEM BER 2019 | P EN N SYLVAN IA DEN TAL JOURNAL
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